Fights and Favorites
by TanteKJ
Summary: A heated exchange between Maria and Georg leads to confessions and realizations.


Disclaimer: I own not the Sound of Music, nor any of its characters.

The air was thick with tension as Maria and Georg faced off with each other from opposite sides of their bed. Heated exchanges between the two were nothing new - they'd had more than one the first day they met, as well as the now legendary exchange by the lake - but this was one of the first they'd had since Maria had changed from being the children's governess to being their mother.

"Maria." Georg began, trying yet again to get his point across. "All I was trying to say was - "

"Was that my brand of discipline was fine when you still had the final say?"

Annoyed by her cheeky tone, Georg shot back, "Well, considering how your 'brand of discipline' was to let the children do as they pleased, I'd say yes!"

He regretted the words as soon as he'd spoken them. It was a low blow and they both knew it.

"Very well, _Captain._" She spat the words bitterly. "I shall await your further orders on all matters as I am apparently your subordinate once again."

She turned on her heels and headed briskly for the bedroom door. Georg, knowing that if he didn't stop her now and try to soothe matters with her that this argument would consume the Villa, followed close on her heels.

"Maria, we are not finished here!"

"Oh?" Maria shot back, not halting her movements. "Am I supposed to wait to be dismissed, Sir?"

He was trying. He really was. He knew he had crossed a line with his last comment but she was doing little to help the situation. Georg respected her hurt but he also wasn't going to blindly take the verbal harpoons she was throwing his way.

Georg's right hand closed tightly around Maria's upper arm just as her left wrapped itself around the golden door handle.

"We are not finished!" He said, his tone biting.

Maria tried to tug out of his grasp, to no avail.

"Maria."

His voice pounded in her ears as her eyes fell on her left hand, knuckles turning white as she grasped the cold handle with her heated flesh. Trying again to break free from his grasp, Maria felt something break inside of her. A dam she had built up long ago burst then and a torrent of emotions came cascading down on her heart and through to her soul.

This was the first time he'd grabbed her in anger. He'd held her in concern, yes, and playfulness, absolutely, but never before in anger.

The combination of their fight, heightened emotions, and her hurt became too much to bear and it all suddenly tore itself from her body.

Maria wrenched herself free from her husband's grasp and bolted for the balcony.

She needed air.

The gauzy curtains twirled in her wake as she disrupted the air in the bedroom and all but crashed into the railing. She braced herself, palms flat, against the cool stone and willed herself to breathe.

The early evening air settled itself around her shoulders as she drew ragged breath after ragged breath into her lungs. Hot tears clouded her eyes and she felt the panic rising in her throat.

"He's not here. You're safe. He's not here. You're safe."

She repeated her mantra over and over in her mind trying to force herself back into calm.

Georg stood silently a few feet behind her. To say he was surprised by her actions would be an understatement. His heart twisted when he heard her breath hitch in her throat. He knew from the sound that she was trying not to cry and he wanted to kick himself for losing control. What the hell did he think he was doing, manhandling her like that? A man who used brute strength on a woman was *not* the kind of man he was, nor was he the kind of man he wanted his sons to become. If anyone else were to grab Maria or one of his daughters the way he had just grabbed her, Georg would tear the man limb from limb. He had to make this better.

"Maria?"

The first tear escaped her lashes just as her husband's gentle voice reached her ears.

"Please." She whispered back, hoping he would stay put, while begging the moon for one last moment of light from the setting sun. The darkness was closing in all around her, literally and figuratively, and she simply wasn't ready to face it.

"My love, I offer you my deepest and most sincere apology. I had no right to grab you like that. I - I..."

His request for forgiveness died in his throat, the audacity to even ask for it at this moment sickening him.

Maria shook her head wordlessly as more hot tears sprang from her eyes.

She had tried to stop them to no avail...she had tried to stop *him* to no avail.

Memories of her torment at the hands of her Uncle flashed through her mind. Every scream; every insult and threat; every strike of his hand.

Maria squeezed her eyes shut tight against the images. She hadn't told Georg yet. Not all of it. She had alluded to her 'wicked childhood' but had never been able to figure out how to tell her husband all that had happened.

She knew now was the time to tell him and she was terrified.

She soundlessly recited a prayer for help as her knees began to give out on her. She grabbed the stone railing of the balcony just as a sudden warmth fell over her face.

The setting sun.

It's rays had shifted just before the golden rays had disappeared behind the mountains, a drop kissing her face; an answer to her prayer.

A sudden feeling of peace and safety filled her and she turned from the railing and flung herself against her husband.

Georg enveloped her in the biggest hug he'd ever shared with her, holding her tight and steady as her tears began anew.

"Please don't let go." Maria begged, her words mumbled against his chest.

"Never." Georg answered with a gentle fierceness.

"Georg." His name fell from her lips as her tears, ones now of healing and love rather pain and loneliness, soaked the front of his shirt.

"I'm here, my love. I'm not going anywhere...and I'll never let go."

He intentionally repeated his vow, not only as reassurance of her request but as a vow that he would hold her only in a loving and gentle way from that point forward. Never again would he grab her in anger.

Never.

"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens..." His voice was soft as he began to sing her song to her.  
Her sobs began to slowly subside as the song continued. She drew in a few deep breaths and held him tighter, looking up at her husband's face with red and watery eyes to sing with him, "...I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel so bad."  
"Maria."  
Her name was a whispered prayer to him; he offered reverence to her heart and asked for forgiveness from her soul.

"Georg." She whispered, her eyes holding his. "I have a confession to make."

He said not a word as she pulled away from him and took his hand in hers, leading them back inside and over to the bed. She held tight to his hand at they sat on the edge of the mattress.

"My favorite things..." She began, a small and somewhat sad smile tugging at her lips. She dropped her gaze from his for a beat before shaking her head ever so slightly and met his eyes again.

"I've never told you about my life before the Abbey." She began softly. "And there are a great many things you need to know."

She held tight to his hand as she began to share her past, starting with how she came to live with her Uncle after her parents had died; how the man resented having to take care of her, finding courage at the bottom of a liquor bottle and stress relief in taking his frustrations out on her.

"And, so, that was how I came to flee to the Untersburg." She said, finally getting through her past. "I'd escape to my mountain while he slept off the night before. It was the first place I felt free. I discovered the Abbey walls one day and realized I could climb the tress that lined them. Once ensconced amongst the branches, I would look over the Abbey walls and into the garden. I would hear the Sisters sing on their way to Vespers and I wanted to be a part of it. The sound of their singing was so magical to me and the Abbey walls so high I knew I would be safe behind them. As soon as I could, I fled my Uncle's home and sought out the Reverend Mother. She counseled me on many topics, offering prayers of love and guidance and giving me permission to live freely again."

"Your 'favorite things'." Georg said softly, the realization hitting him square in the chest.

"Yes." Maria confirmed with a soft smile. "The Reverend Mother helped me piece my thoughts together for the song. It was my way of confirming to myself that I was free, that I had -"

"Survived."  
"Yes." She confirmed softly.  
Georg's eyes were intense, but warm, as he gazed upon this remarkable creature before him. His love for her grew all the more as he learned what she had been through, what she had overcome, and how her heart and soul had remained intact.  
"Thank you." He whispered.  
"For what?" She asked softly.  
"For sharing this with me and...my God, Maria...your song...it was the first song you shared with the children."  
"Yes." She said with a smile. "It was."  
"You gave yourself so freely to them, right from the start."  
She smiled at the mixture of awe and respect in his voice.  
"I was just doing my job." She replied modestly.  
"No. No, it was more than that. You...I don't have the words. All I can say now, and forever, is that I love you with all that I am and always will."  
"I love you will all that I am and always will, too, my Darling."  
The sparkle in Georg's eyes reflected that which he had just spoken, Maria leaning into his hand as he cupped her cheek, his touch impossibly soft.  
Time stopped as their lips met, any and all animosity from before falling away, both hearts knowing that the argument that had set this chain of events in to motion long since forgotten and ultimately unimportant.  
Georg rested his forehead against Maria's as their kiss came to a gentle end.  
"Maria?" He whispered.  
"Yes, my love?"  
"You are my favorite thing."


End file.
